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Raspberry Jam Swirl Crumbcake

You say crumbcake, I say coffee cake, but for the sake of search engines I settled on crumbcake here. This is a soft, yellow cake with a messy crumb topping and jam swirled right in. You can do whatever flavor you like, of course, but I love raspberry! I’ll be demonstrating this on Omaha Morning Blend tomorrow, as I talk about the Omaha Vegan Bakesale For Japan. If you’re throwing a bakesale this season, crumbcakes like this are always a hit. But don’t forget the napkins. (This recipe originally appeared in Vegan Brunch.)

Preheat oven to 375 F. Lightly grease an 8×8 round springform pan or regular square pan. Measure out the soy milk for the cake and add the teaspoon of apple cider vinegar; set aside to curdle. Then begin preparing the topping.

Make the topping:
In a small mixing bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Drizzle in the canola oil by the tablespoonful (you can eyeball it, no reason to whip out a tablespoon.) Use your fingers to swish around the mixture until crumbs form. Alternate swishing and adding canola oil until all oil is used and large crumbs have formed. Some of the topping is still going to be sandy and that’s fine, just so long as you have mostly nice big crumbs. You can add another tablespoon of oil if needed.

Make the cake:
In a large mixing bowl, mix together curdled milk, sugar, canola oil and vanilla. Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt and mix until smooth.

Pour cake batter into prepared pan. Add spoonfuls of jam randomly on top of the batter and use a knife to swirl it in. Evenly sprinkle on the topping and pat it down just a bit. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted through the center comes out clean.

i made this yesterday as written. it was delicious, though i did slightly undercook it. there was a bit too much topping i thought, and it was a bit flour-y, but maybe i didn’t press it down enough? anyway, next time i make this i think i’ll put a very small layer of the crumb topping in the pan before i pour the batter over it, and then use the rest on top. in all this was a great recipe and was very delicious with a cold glass of almond milk.

Made this today-it was AWESOME. It didn’t look like your photo-mine was fluffier, as I used sifted cake flour instead of A.P. I also added cinnamon & more vanilla, and a lot less jam than called for, but I digress-IT WAS DELICIOUS!!! Non-vegans in my house won’t stop eating it!

Normally I love anything with crumble topping, but this one had an unpleasant canola oil taste. Otherwise it was a really good cake and I’ll probably make it again using melted margarine for the topping instead.

Thank you, this recipe went over very well with my omnivore mother and boyfriend! My boyfriend even claimed to not like raspberries. I used almond milk, and it didn’t curdle visibly, but it still came out fine. I may try soy milk in the future, but I didn’t have any on hand. It’s a new go-to recipe for me!

Like several other people, the crumbs didn’t work out for me. By the end of 40 minutes, the cake was well done but the crumbs were just balls of oil, flour, and sugar. Maybe 375 isn’t enough? Should I have put the rack at the top of the oven? In the end I tried to use the broiler to finish the top, and ended up burning the crumbs and ruining the cake.

I made this successfully the first round ( I had vegetable oil, had just run out of canola). But, the next two times (with canola) it came out gummy :/ it still tasted okay, but it wasn’t the beautiful fluffy cake like the first time. Maybe it was the extra oil I used for the topping seeped down? I did have to cook it longer, because my oven doesn’t seem to be as hot as it says… I have to always bake cookies 2-3 minutes longer, and cakes 5-10 minutes longer. Need a thermometer! I want to try coconut oil, but it is SO oily, I’ve been afraid to try. Will try the applesauce suggestion.

This looks great. I think I will try this with apple preserves and cinnamon instead of raspberry since I already have the raspberry truffle brownies on my to bake list! You know, a girl’s gotta mix it up a bit.

I just made this the other night with blueberry preserves and it was deeelicious! Although next time I think I am going to try less flour and more brown sugar for the topping. Seemed a little too bland and flour-y for my tastes.

One word: YUM. I made it with rice bran oil and pineapple jam simple because these are what I had at home and it was FANTASTIC! I’m a newlywed and I’m totally fooling my new husband into thinking I’m a great cook with your awesome recipes! Thank you for another winner, Isa!

I was making these and my friend snuck some Maker’s Mark in the batter. It turned out AMAZING. My non-veggie friend absolutely loved it. (I used almond milk instead of soy, Braggs ACV, organic sugars and jam, coconut oil instead of canola, and real salt)

Just made this tonight but instead of the raspberry jam I used chocolate chips. The cake and topping were delicious so I highly recommend it as it is sure to please everyone. My only issue was a few of us found the topping to be on the salty/floury tasting side. I did use coconut oil instead of the canola oil as it is one of the few oils my tummy can tolerate. Any suggestions as to why my topping turned out this way? Any modifications? thanks

I just made this and only had the ingredients to make half. I put it in cupcake form and baked it for around 17 minutes. It turned out amazing. I also used sugar that had a vanilla bean sitting in it so it was vanilla infused. I highly recommend this recipe. It’s super easy to make and very very good!

I made two batches, one with sour cherries in syrup and one with a prune preserve. The sour cherries were MUCH better, perfect actually . I think this cake is best with a very acid preserve, or even cranberry sauce. I wouldn’t even bother with a low-acid fruit like apricot or peach jam, but that’s just me.
In answer to one of the commenters, I made it the day before and left it at room temperature, sealed in a bag after it cooled completely. No problem. I wouldn’t worry about it fermenting within 24 hours, even at 90 degrees summer heat.
In answer to the commenters whose crumbs were dry, I’ve learned that flours vary a bit in dryness. I use King Arthur white whole wheat, and when I occasionally use Gold Medal flour, I find that the Gold Medal is much dryer. In that case I would add a tablespoon (or as needed) of extra oil to the crumbs or water to the batter- go for the desired texture of the batter or crumbs, not the strict amounts in the recipe.
My only complaint is that this cake is supposed to serve 8. I could finish it myself in two days. 😉

I needed to do a gluten-free baking demonstration that would involve group participation. I thought this would be great, as there are enough steps to keep there from being “too many cooks in the kitchen.”

To make successfully gluten free while using some of the cheapest gluten free flours and not having to buy xantham gum, I simply replaced all the topping flour with oat flour. For the cake mix, I do one cup rice flour and 1/4 oat flour. I also add one flax egg (1 TB flaxmeal in 3 TB water) and use only 1/4 cup oil in the batter. The flax egg gives more binding power, but if you don’t take away some oil, it becomes too moist and doesn’t bake up too well.

I made this for the first time ever for Thanksgiving this year. My husband took one bite, looked at me and goes “you HAVE to make this regularly.” I did it with some cherry jam, and it turned out great the first time — I never worry about that with your recipes. Thank you for all the noms!

Delicious overall, but I think there’s about half a cup too much crumb on this crumb cake. I scraped a lot of the topping off upon tasting, because it was overwhelming on the relatively thin slice of cake.

I baked it in a square, glass dish at 370 degrees for 38 minutes, and served it with a scoop of coconut ice cream.

Made this cake yesterday. It is very very good!!!! Question though- the middle came out weter then I thought it should. It still tasted very good. But I am just wondering if you have any thoughts on why that may be. I baked it for about 40 minutes, toothpick came out dry, but the very middle was kind of cheesecakee.

I have made this a couple of times and it is SO good. The balance of spices in the topping is perfect, and the addition of jam (I used strawberry last time) adds a sweet, but subtle, surprise. I’d recommend using unrefined coconut oil in place of the canola because it boosts the flavor profile and makes the cake smell amazing.

[…] meal plan. It comes from “Vegan Brunch,” and the recipe is featured on the site, which you can find here. I’ve actually made it before, but this time around, I added a cup of frozen blackberries […]

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